What is "Declared Survivor"? Protocol that can be activated after an attack on the White House
In the current debate on the security of the President of the United States, it has been reported that the "appointed survivor" system was not envisaged, according to which a cabinet member is isolated from taking office in the event of an attack.
In the "Designated Survivor" series, the character played by Kiefer Sutherland becomes President of the United States overnight, leaving his position of little political weight until then. The situation erupts after an attack on the Capitol.
By establishing the protocol of "designated survivor," or "designated survivor," Sutherland takes office in a tumultuous and confused situation, with the burning Capitol, the only member of the cabinet who was not present at the ceremony, appointed survivor.
The series, which does not contribute much beyond the pilot section, is based on the protocol that has been in force in the United States since the 1980s and helped to make this system more popular.
Last weekend, however, it was not applied at the correspondents' dinner, and now that the debate on the security of the US president is booming, the issue has aroused a lot of criticism: why didn't they apply the system?
State of the Union Conference
In general, the system of the so-called survivor is activated annually during the State of the Union Conference. The aim is that in the event of an attack on the Capitol, the administration should not be left without a high authority, since the entire Government attends the event.
In the case of last weekend's correspondent dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, there were six of the top seven members of Trump's succession line.
The only one missing was Chuck Grassley, a 92-year-old legislator who is pro tempore president of the Senate.
It has been reported, however, that no one in the government was isolated as a designated survivor to take office in the event of an attack on members of the Trump administration.
White House response
According to the Administration, "several members of the Government on the line of succession did not attend for personal reasons, so it was not necessary." However, they acknowledged that the matter had been discussed at meetings prior to the Correspondents' dinner.
During Trump's tenure, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins has so far been appointed as a survivor, so he does not attend the State of the Union conference or any other event involving the entire government.
On Saturday, however, he was not isolated. When Cole Allen entered Hilton, the protocol was not in place. And that has reignited the White House's security debate.
Trump's line of succession
According to the U.S. Constitution, all members of the line of succession must be at least 35 years of age, be American by birth, and live in the United States for at least 14 years, and be approved by the Senate.
In the case of the current government, if Donald Trump dies or is disqualified from serving as President, Vice President JD Vance will assume his powers and act as President until the end of his term, until January 2029, as provided for in Amendment No 25 to the Constitution.
If Trump and Vance were both incapacitated, the next to take office would be House Speaker Mike Johnson. If he could not take office either, it would be the turn of the pro-tempore president of the Senate, a largely symbolic position that is usually held by the longest-serving senator of the majority party.
It is followed by the other members of the Trump administration, depending on the seniority of each department in the structure of the government. First is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, followed by Secretary of Finance Scott Bessent and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
The next would be the Attorney General, but it is unclear whether Todd Blanch meets the requirements, since he was confirmed by the Senate for the second position in the Justice Department, but has not been appointed or confirmed as the Department's Chief Executive.
Thereafter, the succession line consists of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labour, currently vacant, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Transport, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs and, finally, the Secretary of National Security.
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